Wednesday, August 5, 2009

My Parents and the Plaster Figurines

Whenever I see any figurines of plaster of Paris, my mind transports me back some fifty plus years to the time when my older brother had braces. We lived at that time in Macomb, Illinois, where my father taught chemistry at Western Illinois University. And every2-3 weeks (and later, less frequently) my brother was driven by my mom all the way to St. Louis, to have work done on his braces. Occasionally I went along for the ride, and I remember two things vividly: the mighty Mississippi river (and the long bridge spanning it), and the closet chock-full of plaster of Paris figurines at the orthodontist’s office. He used them as prizes. These little white statuettes were fascinating to me. I would have loved to have a collection of them of my own. Now you may ask, why in Macomb, then a town of twelve thousand, was there no orthodontist? Actually there was. But when my parents started investigating the possibility of sending my brother to the orthodontist, they realized that the one located in Macomb refused to accept blacks as customers. And my parents went to all the expense and considerable inconvenience to go instead to St. Louis. Now THAT is called integrity and sincerity!!

A description of this blog

This blog is basically a diary, journal, and notes of observations. In the past it dealt mostly with the topics of special needs, especially a real view of what life is like with (and for) a teen with Down syndrome. However, since Ricki's death in August 2012, at age 17, the amount of blogging on the subject of "special needs" has decreased. Additional topics are interpersonal relationships, life in Israel, and dieting. (I have lost 75 kilos...)(And no, I did NOT have weight-loss surgery....) Also an occasional get-on-a-soapbox-and-tell-it-like-it-is personal opinion.

Great Resources on Down Syndrome

Join Me On Walker Tracker!

Join me on Walker Tracker!

Walker Tracker is a (FREE) site where you can record steps walked (as well as weight,aerobic steps, and more...), and even more than that, you can join "competitions (against others or to reach a goal). It is a great motivator to get out stepping! To Join , go HERE.